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At Southern Cross Divers we live to dive
wrecks, the bigger the better. We actively search out and dive the many many
awesome wrecks located in and around the Pacific region and
beyond. Every year we organise several trips to
locations that appeal to the dedicated wreck diver. Apart from the normal
well trodden paths to such beloved favourites as the President Coolidge,
Truk Lagoon and the Solomon's we also seek out the more extreme sites,
away from the beaten track. We run regular trips to the South China
Sea to dive such wrecks as the Prince of Wales and the Repulse, the Java
Sea to dive wrecks like the De Router, Exeter and all the other WWII war ships in the area. Other
areas that we also have taken divers to include Subic Bay, to dive
some of the deeper wrecks in that area and Rabul to investigate the now very
dirty wrecks to be found after the volcano erupted. One of the latest destination to come to
our attention is Kwajalein. This lagoon has been forgotten over time and
as such its many wrecks are still in prime condition. The lagoon is the
biggest in the world and was used by the Japanese as one of their
main forward supply bases during the WWII. The Japanese constructed
an airfield, a submarine base and a flying boat station along with
the extensive freight facilities required for the air base located there. After the atomic tests at
Bikini Atoll a large number of vessels that survived the testing
were towed to the area and scuttled, many of these are yet to be located.
The jewel in the crown is the German Battle Cruiser the Prinz Eugan
which is located upside down in the lagoon in 35m of water. In later
years the Americans took over Kwajalein island and used the lagoon for
missile testing, as such the area was closed to all but US personnel,
hence the interest in this area. Another location to surface this year is
the wreck of HMS Hermes, the worlds first purpose built aircraft carrier.
She lies in 55m of water 15km of the coast of Sri Lanka in the Bay of
Bengal. This trip will be a once in a life time adventure.
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